Bundestag extends corona powers of the government until July

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German Bundestag (archive image)

Photo: ANNEGRET HILSE / REUTERS

At the federal and state summit on Wednesday, the first easing of the corona measures was initiated.

Should the incidence values ​​rise again, however, the rules could soon be tightened again.

The Bundestag has now extended the extensive powers of the government for at least the coming months.

A majority of the MPs voted to continue the necessary "epidemic situation of national scope" for another three months.

368 MPs voted in favor of the bill, 293 were against.

Without the vote, the situation would have ended at the end of March.

If no new decision is made to continue in the future, the regulation will expire on July 1st.

Approval in parliament is apparently dwindling

However, support among parliamentarians has apparently waned since the last extension in mid-November.

At that time, 422 MPs voted for the motion, 134 abstained and only 90 MPs, almost exclusively from the AfD, voted against.

In the past, among other things, the FDP had expressed criticism of the pandemic decision.

Last summer, the party saw the time had come to let the special rules for the government expire.

The "epidemic situation" gives the federal government special powers to issue ordinances directly without the consent of the Federal Council, for example on contact restrictions, tests and vaccinations.

The Bundestag first established it on March 25, 2020 and confirmed it in November.

In the future, restrictions will no longer have to be based solely on incidence

The law also contains other innovations - among other things, it stipulates that in future the restrictions will no longer have to be based solely on the incidence value, but can also take other key figures into account, such as the R-value and the progress made with vaccinations.

The acute care for family carers will also be extended until June 30th.

"Employees can receive care support allowance for up to 20 working days as a wage replacement benefit and can be absent from work for up to 20 days in an acute care situation," said Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey (SPD).

Before the vote, Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) defended the easing options for the corona lockdown agreed with the countries.

What is now necessary is "careful opening towards more normality," said Spahn.

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fek / dpa / AFP / Reuters